


Not Too Late

by hazelNuts



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Future Fic, Hurt Castiel, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, POV Dean, Pining Dean, Post S11, because let's pretend s11 will have a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 20:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5220074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/pseuds/hazelNuts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel goes missing when he and Charlie go shopping together for his birthday.</p><p>For <a href="http://destielficletchallenge.tumblr.com/">destielficletchallenge</a>,  Prompt: Vetala</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really bad at tagging. If you think I forgot any, please let me know in the comments.

‘Hey,’ Sam greets him as he walks into the kitchen. ‘Where’s Cas?’

‘Morning,’ Dean says, waving his spatula at his brother, but not taking his eyes of his eggs. ‘He and Charlie went shopping.’

‘Really? For what?’

‘She’s giving him his own laptop for his birthday. They left at like six. Apparently it’s a couple hours to the right store. Charlie is determent to give him the perfect laptop.’

Cas doesn’t have an official birthday, but they decided he should have one, now that he’s human. It’s in three days.

‘Huh.’

‘What?’

‘No, it’s just, I didn’t think Cas would skip one of your breakfasts,’ Sam shrugs.

Dean raises his eyebrows. ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

‘Come on, Dean. You two have been eating breakfast together ever since things calmed down. And I know you’ve been sharing a room.’

Dean feels his cheeks heat up and quickly looks back down at his plate. Why does Sam have to make it sound like more than it really is? Cas likes his eggs, and he doesn’t like being alone at night. It’s not like they sleep in the same bed. Most of the time.

‘You know I don’t care, right?’ Sam asks, eyebrows scrunched together in concern. ‘Cas is an amazing person, and he makes you happy.’

‘Wow! Hey, it’s not like that,’ Dean quickly says, nearly choking on his eggs. ‘He just sleeps better when there’s someone there.’

‘You were sleeping in the same bed two nights ago!’

This time Dean does choke. When the eggs have left his windpipe he takes a shaky breath before saying, ‘He was cold. And how do you even know that?’

‘Because it was 10am and there was no coffee in the pot, so I went looking for you. You never sleep that long.’

‘Well, I-‘ Dean’s got nothing. Sam’s right, they did sleep in that morning. It happens nearly every time Cas climbs into his bed. He sleeps better with Cas right next to him, his even breaths a soothing lullaby and his presence making him feel safe.

‘Dean, this is exactly like that. And not just for you,’ Sam says. His face is doing that thing where he’s both concerned and a little amused and there’s nothing left for Dean to do but nod in admission.

‘Don’t tell him, okay? And just… Give me a little time,’ Dean pleads. He knows his brother. Sam would plan the perfect evening for him and Cas, but he’s not sure he’s ready for that yet.

For a moment it looks like Sam wants to protest, then he sighs and his shoulders drop. ‘Alright, but I’m giving you no more than a year.’

‘Ha ha.’

~

It’s almost four in the afternoon when his phone rings. He’s watching the Real Housewives of Orange County and drinking beer. Things have really calmed down in the past few months, so Dean’s not worried when he digs his phone out of his pocked and sees Charlie’s name lighting up the screen.

‘Hey, wha-‘

‘ _Oh god, I’m so sorry, Dean. We were apart for only a couple minutes, and now he’s not picking up his phone, and I can’t find him. I’m sorry_.’

‘Charlie, calm down,’ he says, keeping his voice steady despite the way his heart seems to be stuck in his throat. ‘Tell me what happened.’

 _‘I went to pay for Cas’ present, and I asked him if he could get us coffees. I walked into that Starbucks like ten minutes after him. I’ve been looking for almost an hour, but I can’t find him. I’m so sorry_.’ Charlie’s voice breaks at the end.

Dean wills his breath to slow down and his brain to think. He needs to get Sam. Cas is missing. They need to go. Cas is missing. They need to figure out if anything has been happening at the mall Cas and Charlie went to. Cas is missing. He could be hurt. He could be dead. No. Cas can look after himself. He’s not dead. He can’t be.

‘Sam!’ he calls out, jumping off the couch. He races out of the room to look for his brother, while giving Charlie instruction. 'Find out if there might be a case at that mall, or that general area. Missing persons, odd deaths, you know the signs.’

‘ _Yes, of course_ ,’ Charlie says. She sounds relieved at having something to do. ‘ _I’ll call as soon as I find something. And Dean-‘_

‘I know, Charlie. It’s not your fault, okay?’

‘ _Thanks, Dean_.’

He hangs up the phone and calls for his brother again. Finally, he hears Sam’s heavy footfalls down the hall.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Cas is missing,’ Dean explains. Sam’s eyes widen in shock. He nods and follows Dean to the car.

~

The mall Charlie and Cas went to is over two hours away and Dean has no option but to stick to the speed limit. If they get pulled over it’ll take them even longer to get there. He keeps fidgeting with the radio and the tapes, and Sam eventually turns it off completely.

‘You want me to drive?’

‘No.’ If he’s not driving than he’ll have nothing to focus on but the fact that Cas is missing. He’ll go crazy. His mind keeps drifting to his and Sam’s conversation from that morning. He should’ve told Cas. The knowledge that he might not get to, feels like there is a boulder pressing down on his chest.

About half-way, Sam’s phone goes off.

‘Hey, Charlie,’ Sam says.

Dean keeps glancing at Sam while he talks to Charlie, barely keeping an eye on the road. He can’t tell what’s going on from Sam’s face and the one side of the conversation he can hear. His hands tighten around the steering wheel in frustration.

‘There might be a case,’ Sam says after saying goodbye to Charlie, assuring her they’ll be there in an hour.

Dean almost jerks the car off the road. It’s a monster. A monster got Cas.

‘There have been some people that went missing, mostly adults, mostly men. And last night a body was found in a dumpster.’

‘Son of a bitch.’ The words come out shaky.

‘I think it’s best I go to the police station and you go meet up with Charlie.’ When Dean doesn’t respond, Sam continues, ‘We’ll find him, Dean. We always do.’

~

Dean drives them to the mall, where Sam takes Charlie’s car to drive to the station. Charlie jumps into the passenger seat the moment Sam vacates it.

‘I’ve been looking for abandoned buildings nearby,’ Charlie starts without even a “hello”. Dean’s grateful she’s skipping the chitchat. ‘There are quite a few. I doubt whoever, or whatever, took him is keeping him in the mall, though. Too many people. Unless it’s a ghost, because they don’t really care.’

‘I doubt a ghost dumps bodies in dumpsters. They’re not very good about cleaning up their messes.’

Charlie nods in agreement, then pulls out her tablet to show him the places where Cas might be. They start with the closest, then go outwards in a spiral. The first building is empty, aside from a couple rats. The same for the second building. Sam calls just as Dean is about to open the door to the third.

‘Tell me it’s just some crazy psychopath,’ Dean begs.

‘Sorry. The guy they found was a couple days old, and since he was in the dumpster he was half-eaten by rats, but there are bite marks on his thighs and neck. And they’re pretty sure he was drained of blood.’

‘Please don’t say vampire.’ He hates vampires. They’re arrogant dicks, but then most monsters are.

‘One of the bites was relatively intact. Doesn’t look like vamps.’

‘Then what?’

‘I think it was Vetala.’

‘Are you kidding me?’ He hates vamps, but Vetala are even worse, hunting in pairs, strong, smart, their bites venomous. They’re rare and he’s only hunted them twice, once on his own, and the second time when they helped Krissy find her dad.

‘Unfortunately, no.’

‘Damn it. I’ll text you where we are and leave a knife for you in the trunk.’ He hangs up and walks back to the car, cursing under his breath.

‘What did Sam say?’ Charlie asks, hurrying after him.

‘Vetala. Imagine vampires with venomous teeth.’ He hands her one of the silver knives. ‘Stab them in the heart, then twist it.’

‘Stab, twist,’ Charlie repeats. ‘What do they look like?’

‘Women. You don’t normally know they’re Vetala until they attack.’

‘I hate it when that happens,’ Charlie mutters under her breath.

They’re not two steps inside the building before he knows they have the right one. There is a murmur of voices coming from a room at the end of the hall. It’s an old office building, and every room they walk past has a desk and papers scattered on the floor. Dean can see the offices are small. It doesn’t bode well for the room the voices are coming from. Vetala are strong and fast, and in a fight they nearly always come out on top. It would be nice if the walls they will inevitably be thrown against were a little further away.

When they reach the end of the hallway, Dean presses close against the wall next to the door, trying to listen to what the monsters are saying. It sounds like someone messed up, because the other one sounds pissed.

‘This was stupid! You know they found that other body,’ the pissed off Vetala says.

‘Like they’ll know what did it. They’ll just think he bled out in that dumpster. Or maybe they’ll think it was a cult,’ the second one giggles.

‘We don’t hunt alone!’

‘Ugh, fine. I won’t do it again,’ the V2 sighs in resignation.

‘Thank you. He does look strong. Maybe he’ll make it to five,’ V1 says.

Dean sees red and storms through the door. The Vetala are standing over Cas, who is lying on the floor, bound and gagged, unconscious. The monsters turn when they hear him burst in, they’re fangs drop and they hiss in anger.

Charlie grabs his arm, but he pulls himself loose and throws himself at the closest of the two monsters. His knife hits its goal and he twists it, feeling triumphant. There are two screams, one in pain and one in fury.

The surviving Vetala pulls him off her sister and throws him across the room, which isn’t that far. His head hits the wall hard and he blinks a couple times to try to get rid of the spots swimming through his vision.

Charlie is already there, fighting, trying to find an opening for her to stab her knife in the Vetala’s chest. The Vetala is too strong and Charlie gets thrown across the room as well, landing right next to Dean. She doesn’t hit the wall as hard as him, though, and scrambles up immediately, pulling him with her.

‘You get Cas and get him out,’ she tells him.

‘But-

‘Then you can come get me.’ She’s gone before he can protest.

Dean quickly moves to Cas’ side, pulling his knife out of the dead Vetala’s chest on his way. He pulls off the gag and cuts the ropes on Cas’ wrists and ankles. Cas blinks open his eyes, and Dean brushes a hand over his cheek. Cas didn’t shave that morning, probably didn’t have time because he and Charlie left at the crack of dawn.

‘Dean?’ Cas’ voice sounds thick and confused.

‘I’m here. I got you,’ Dean assures him. He pulls his hands through Cas’ hair, then starts hoisting him up, trying to get him to a sitting position. He catches sight of blood on Cas’ collar, but it doesn’t look like it’s still bleeding. A yelp behind him makes him turn and drop Cas.

Charlie is down again. The Vetala has her pinned to the floor, its head approaching Charlie’s neck fast. Dean grabs his knife and is by Charlie’s side in a second. He stabs the knife in the Vetala’s back, hoping it’ll hits its heart. The monster screams and loosens its grip on Charlie enough that the woman can pull her arm loose and stab it in the chest. Dean can feel her knife scraping against his as she twists it. The Vetala starts to rapidly decompose, and Charlie shoves it off her with a disgusted squeal and scrambles up.

‘Let’s clean up,’ Dean sighs.

They gather their knives, and put the two bodies together. They catch fire easily, and it only takes a few minutes before they’re nothing but ashes. When they’ve erased all their traces, they grab Cas and support him as they walk outside. There are still bodies in there, but nothing alive. They’ll leave an anonymous tip for the police.

Just as they have Cas in the back of the Impala, Sam arrives. Dean can’t help but snort at the sight of his giant brother in Charlies tiny red Beetle.

‘He okay?’ Sam asks, nodding towards Cas.

‘I’m fine, Sam,’ Cas says as he rolls down the window. ‘Simply tired.’

‘Let’s get you home then,’ Dean says.

~

The drive back to the bunker is markedly less tense than the drive to the mall that afternoon. Charlie is driving her own car, and Dean puts her on speaker as Cas tells them what happened. He’d forgotten his wallet in the car, and the Vetala’s had grabbed him in the parking lot. He remembers waking up briefly when he was dragged into the office building, but then he got knocked out again. After that the conversation turns to dinner. It’s passed eight and none of them have eaten.

Dean checks the wound on his neck as Charlie and Sam go get take out. Cas sits on a chair in the kitchen, blood-stained t-shirt already in the trash. Dean finds it a physical effort not to drag Cas to his room and tuck him into bed, but he has a feeling Cas won’t appreciate that much. So instead, he quickly and efficiently cleans and bandages the bite.

‘Sam had a killer headache the day after, while that venom was still in his system. Just let me know when you want me to bring out the painkillers.’

‘Thank you, Dean,’ Cas says, nodding seriously.

The rest of the evening, Dean keeps a close eye on him. Barely registering the movie they’re watching. Not registering it at all actually, because when it’s finished he has no idea what it was about or who was in it. Cas seemed to like it though, because he’s smiling.

Tired from the day and with nothing left to do, they all go to bed.

‘Dean,’ Cas starts, raising his eyebrows at him when Dean follows him to the bathroom.

‘Yeah?’

‘You can stop “hovering”.’

Dean feels the corner of his mouth tick up in a half-smile at the audible quotation marks. He rubs the back of his neck as he comes to an awkward stop. ‘Sorry. Didn’t realize it.’

‘It’s okay. You’re worried. People “hover” when they are worried. I know that. I never realized how nervous it makes the person being “hovered” over, though.’

‘I’ll wait in the bedroom.’ He takes a step back, but Cas pulls him with him into the bathroom.

‘You might as well brush your teeth with me,’ Cas smiles, handing Dean his toothbrush.

As they brush in companionable silence, Dean tries to think of his next move. He’d thought about telling Cas in a week, lay the groundwork for it first, but now he no longer wants to wait. It was stupid to wait this long. They’re hunters. Bad things happen to them, even when they don’t go looking for it.

Back in the bedroom, they each crawl into their own bed. Dean hesitates before turning off the light and Cas throws him a questioning look.

‘Is everything alright, Dean?’

‘I-‘ An idea pops into Dean’s head. ‘Could you sleep with me tonight?’

Cas nods, pushing his blankets off him and then slipping into bed next to Dean.

‘Are you cold?’ he asks.

Dean shakes his head, takes a deep breath, his heart hammering in his chest as he says, ‘No, I just like you here.’

Cas’ eyes widen for a moment, then his lips stretch into a wide grin, before his expression turns a little sheepish. ‘You know, I don’t really get cold at night. I just like being here.’

Dean’s jaw drops, then he chuckles. He turns off the light, then manoeuvres Cas so he can pull him close, Cas’ back pressed against his chest. He tangles their legs and wraps his arms around Cas’ waist. Cas’ happy sigh and the way he melts into him, make warmth bloom in Dean’s chest.

‘G’night, Cas,’ he whispers, dragging his nose over the back of Cas’ neck.

‘Goodnight, Dean.’

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/).


End file.
